Life
by gezzy
Summary: This is my first ever thing like this. I'm rubbish at summaries, but is a kind of AbbySusan friendship. Please Read and Review honestly. Chapter 7 is now up!
1. Default Chapter

This is my first ever thing like this. I would appreciate some feedback and please be honest as to whether this is rubbish or not. If it is good it will be a chapter story.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

Quick Summary:

This is set in the ER about Season 10. There are a few things which I have left out to make the story seem different to what it happening at the moment. These are:

The crash at the end of the series. Susan having the baby. Although she is with Chuck. 

There are probably some more which I have forgotten, but if and when I remember I will update. If you notice anything like this please tell me in the reviews.

I know that was supposed to be a quick summary, but I do tend to go on a bit!!!

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It was a busy day in the ER. What was new? Everyday in the ER was busy. Every day was different. Doctors and Nurses were running around madly, patients were waiting to be seen and at the admit. Desk the phones hardly stopped ringing all morning. It was a normal morning in the ER.

11 A.M.

"Doctor Lewis" Abby said. She repeated and there was again no reply. She went over to her friend who was sitting at the desk, eyes glazed over and staring dreamily into space. She touched her shoulder and Susan jumped with fright. "I called on you…twice. Are you alright?"

"Yeah…um…fine. I must have been in a world of my own. Well, what did you want me for?"

"Oh yeah, the lab results are back on the patient in Exam 3." She handed the notes to her friend who sluggishly got up and followed her to the room. Susan did not say anything. This was unusual, Abby thought, as her friend was usually bubbly and always gossiping or joking about something. Come to think of it she had been noticing a difference in Susan lately. Her thoughts were disturbed by the sound of the Exam room door thudding closed behind her.

Susan told the patient that the blood test was normal and asked Abby to stitch the wound on his arm and discharge him. She did this and continued to think about her friend. She discharged the patient and went looking for an attending to sigh off on the chart. Carter was not her best friend at the moment, so she looked for Luka instead. She couldn't find him. She asked Kerry to do it, but she said that she was too busy and headed into the elevator. Too busy to sign a chart Abby thought. She decided to go and find Susan. After a while and a trek around the whole ER, she finally found her, sitting in the lounge in a world of her own again. She signed the chart and Abby was about to sit down and find out what the problem really was when she was interrupted by Malik who came running into the lounge screaming, "Dr. Lewis, multiple MVA rolling up!" Susan got up and her and Abby quickly ran out to the bay where the joined Carter and Malik. The first ambulance doors swung open and Carter shouted that he'd take this and we they were to get the second one. The patient was unstable and had multiple fractures and a gash up his chest. They rushed him into Trauma 2 and worked on him. They must have been working for at least 45 minutes when they finally got him stable and Doctor. Corday rushed him to the OR. Abby looked up to find Luka peeling off a blood-stained apron and looking really tired.

Abby headed out to the admit desk and checked the board. It had finally quietened down. She quickly turned around to see if Kerry was around. She wasn't. She took the chance to get some lunch. Before she went out, she went looking for Susan. She found her in the Lounge changing her shirt which was decidedly bloody following treating the MVA.

She turned around and looked surprised to see Abby there. Abby could tell that her friend had been crying. It was something that she hadn't really seen her do before. Susan beat Abby to it and said "Want to go for lunch?"

Abby said yes and as son as they were outside she said "Right, c'mon tell me what's up!" Susan looked at her, her eyes still slightly red and said, "I'm fine, really, I'm fine." It didn't take a genius to work out that she was lying and Abby was not going to give up until she was given an honest answer.


	2. Chapter 2 Coffee and Fighting

Thanks for the review britgirl 2003, I will take this advice on board and try and slow down a bit. It will be a bit slower from here as I really wanted to get the basics over and done with in the first chapter. Please everyone Read & Review honestly.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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Chapter 2

It was cold, the wind was cold, the ground was cold and frozen and the air between Susan and Abby seemed cold. They trudged across the frozen Ambulance bay and crossed the street and entered the café across the street from County General. Susan went and got a table whilst Abby ordered.

Abby placed the cups of coffee on the table, and managed to splash them everywhere. The silence between the two of them was remarkable. Abby couldn't concentrate on eating for worrying about Susan and thinking about what to say next. Meanwhile, Susan just didn't eat.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence Abby said, "It's great to go for a break isn't it?" Susan's reply to this was a half-hearted nod. No matter what Abby did or said she could not get any kind of conversation out of Susan.

Susan remained still and very quiet, staring into her coffee. Abby was really happy when the awful lunch was interrupted by Susan's pager. They both got up and ran back to the ER. In fact, they seemed to slide more than run to the ER. As they got there, Luka and Chuny were waiting for them with plastic aprons and gloves. Three ambulances rolled up one after the other. There had been a gang fight. There were two victims who had been shot – one in the chest and the other in the leg. The third ambulance carried a teenager who did not seem badly injured as he was shouting and swearing at the other two. The teenager who had been shot in the chest was crashing. Luka screamed for a gurney and rushed him inside. "What's open?" he yelled at Jerry. "Trauma 2", was the reply.

 Abby took the aggressive man into the Curtain area. As he could see the doctors working on the injured man in the next room, he shouted, "Don't you let him die!" As Chuny was pushing the man who was shot in the leg around the corner, the aggressive man suddenly jumped up and tried to grab him. He screamed "This is you fault man, and I'm gonna get you for it!" He dived at him and Abby seemed to get in the way. He slapped Abby instead of the man. Jerry and Malik came running and managed to restrain the man for long enough to let Chuny put hard restraints on him. Security arrived. They were a bit late.

Even though he was restrained he continued to thrash about on the gurney. Abby was still slightly stunned and did not know whether to sedate him. She technically still needed the order from another Doctor. She looked up and through the window to the Trauma room. Luka was pounding the man's chest and Susan was charging the Defribulator. All she needed was for the man she was helping to restrain to see his friend's life nearly over. Just at that moment Dr. Weaver reappeared.

"What the heck is going on here? It looks like no-one can handle a situation down here but me!" Kerry looked from the floor where various things that were knocked over in the fight, still lay. She then looked at the Security guards helping to restrain a patient and then she looked at Abby. Abby had a small cut below her lip from where she was hit, and the area around it was already starting to bruise.

Kerry snapped, "Abby go put ice on that, Jerry call the police, Malik go get some sedative and someone…tell me what happened!" Abby, rather glad that she could escape the scene, headed to the lounge to get some ice from the freezer. She opened her locker and looked in the mirror, "that's going to be one hell of a bruise," she said. After a minute or two she was joined by Dr. Weaver. She wanted to know Abby's point of view on the incident. She explained what happened and Dr. Weaver seemed to have calmed down by this time. Her pager went off and the anger boiled back up. She was late for a meeting. Kerry flew towards the elevators. At least we are going to have a quieter afternoon if she's at a meeting. Abby liked Kerry, but at times she could become too much.

Abby headed out to the admit. desk. The waiting area was not too bad and the board was fairly quiet. As she was deciding which case was the best and easiest one to take, she was joined by Luka.

 "How's the kid who got shot?" she asked.

"He's in the OR. He crashed twice, but I think that we got him back. It's a tough one to call," he replied. "Looking for an easy case?" he asked.

"Yeah." replied Abby. "It looks like you got the easiest one though," she called to Luka who had gotten a simple sprained ankle. She picked up a chart for a lacerated arm. She thought that this would be good because she needed practise at doing stitches. She stitched the gentleman's hand up and went searching for an Attending to sign a prescription for painkillers. "Why do they all disappear when you need one of them?" she asked herself. Carter was not an option in her mind and Luka looked as if he was having to much fun talking to the 'sprained ankle patient's' mother. It meant that it had to be Susan. It gave her an excuse to try and talk to her though. She found her on the phone to the ICU. She signed the chart and Abby stood waiting until she had finished on the phone.

"So…how are you?" Abby asked.

"Fine, why wouldn't I be?" Susan asked, before Abby had the chance to answer Susan asked if she wanted to go for a coffee after work.

"Sure," Abby replied. As she walked off she thought that this might be her chance to find out the real reason that Susan was acting strangely. She had four hours left. These were filled up with mainly minor cases and a stint in triage.

About two and a half hours later she was sitting at the admit. desk with Jerry when she heard a loud crash. It came from Exam 2. Jerry and Abby rushed over there and opened the door to find the patient that had attacked Abby, had kicked over a trolley just as Susan was about to start stitching his leg. He started shouting obscenities at Susan and Jerry. Abby called Security. "What a waste of time," she thought as it usually took Security so long to get there that the event was over. The Security guards held the man down so that Susan could stitch his leg. Abby and Jerry left the room and went and sat at the desk.

About 15 minutes later, Susan emerged from the room going, "I hate doing that to someone who is so ungrateful."

Abby followed her into the lounge saying, "At least he didn't slap you!"

"I suppose you are right," she called as Abby left. Susan sat down on the couch and started to work on a pile of charts and before she knew it her eyes started to become heavy and she nodded off.

An hour and ten minutes later Abby entered the lounge and found her sleeping. She gently woke her up and began to get her coat from her locker. Susan did the same and sat and waited for Abby. Susan said that it must be all the long shifts that Kerry was making her work.   
  
"Really," Abby muttered.   
"What do you mean by that?" Susan replied sounding slightly angry.

"It's just that you haven't seemed yourself recently," Abby said.

"I told you that I was fine." Susan replied sounding slightly angrier.

"Well, I just think that you aren't and there is something that you're not telling me," Abby told her.

"So you think that I'm purposely not telling you something, you think that I'm lying to you?" Susan said, nearly at breaking point.

Abby thought that it was unusual to see Susan like this.

"It's not that I think that you're lying to me, I didn't say that, it's because I care," Abby said.

"I know you care, but drop it, will you." Susan said slightly calmer.

"No, I won't drop it, not until I find out what you're hiding from me!" Abby said.

"So you do think that I'm lying to you!" Susan said, the anger very evident in her voice.

"Well, yes!" Abby said very frankly.

"Fine!" Susan said, a mixture of anger and emotion in her voice. She turned around and walked out of the lounge, slamming the door behind her.

Abby was left standing there, alone, wondering what tomorrow's shift would bring!

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Please Read & Review honestly, as I said.

I will probably update tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3 Phonecalls and Apologies

Thanks for the reviews. As someone has said quite a bit of what has happened so far does not seem relevant to the storyline. I have made the story like this so that it is not simply a one track story. Meaning that I am trying to put bits in to add a bit of a different tone in that everything is not revolving around one point.

I'm sorry about the wrong name that I used for the defibrillator. I honestly was going to use 'Haldol', but I wasn't sure if it was called 'Haldol' or 'Halidol'.

Abby is still in somewhat of a transition between nurse and doctor, in that she is still working both kinds of shifts and doing both kinds of tasks.

One other small point is that I do know that you are supposed to take a new line for each new speaker when typing dialogue and I did do then when typing, but it has appeared as one large paragraph.

I will try to improve the story as I go along and from listening to your advice in the reviews. I am still not quite used to this, but I hope that you'll find it more enjoyable as I go.

Finally, there are a few different directions that I can go in with this story, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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Chapter 3

The air seemed even colder in and outside of the hospital. Abby was left standing in the Lounge wondering, and Susan was outside in the Bay, the cold air hitting her warm face, which was red from a mixture of shouting and anger.

She headed off towards the El, trudging through the thin layer of fresh ice and snow which lay on the ground. Many thoughts whirled around in side her head as she was waiting for the train: "Was she right to get angry at Abby even though she knew that she was just being caring?", "Should she have just given in and had a heart-to-heart with her?", "Was she acting a bit out-of-sorts recently?" She did not even have to think about the last one. She knew that she had. She then started to worry if she had really offended Abby.

The train grinded and screeched to a halt, it was the El after all. Susan climbed on and squeezed into a seat beside a man. Her next thought was whether she should call the ER later to speak to Abby as she knew that she was doing a nursing shift at 10.

She then worried about what to say to her. She decided that she would do this and try and be polite and apologise. The train jolted causing her to nearly fly out of her seat and then it slowly grinded to a halt. She got off and headed for her apartment. She thought that it had gotten colder and that it would get worse.

After a pretty treacherous and icy walk to her apartment, one which should only have taken a few minutes but took longer because of the weather, she opened the door and threw her bag on the floor. She then reached for the heating switch and turned it on. After making a quick cup of coffee she looked at the clock. It was 7.30. She had an hour and a half before Abby's shift started. She decided to watch TV. She collapsed on her sofa and before she knew it she had fallen asleep. When she woke up she looked at her watch – it was 11.00.

She got up and headed for the phone. She had a message – "Susan, this is Abby, please pick up, I know that you're there." Susan picked up the phone and dialled the number for the ER a voice at the other end of the phone answered, it was unfamiliar, maybe it was a night clerk, - "Hello, County General, how can I help?"

"Hi this is Doctor Lewis, is Nurse Lockhart working tonight?" she inquired.

"Just a moment," the voice answered, "Yes she is working in the ER tonight."

"Well, could I speak t her then?" Susan asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure where she is," the voice replied.

"Could you go find her please, it's important," Susan said.

"I'll try, but it might take a minute," the clerk said.

"Fine," replied Susan. The next voice that she heard was a familiar one, it was Abby's.

"Hello, Abby here, who is it?"

"It's Susan," She replied. "I want to talk to you, I got your message."

"So, it took you a while, but I thought that you'd call." Abby said kind of jokily.

"Look, I just wanted to say that…" but just then there was one almighty crash at the other end of the phone, "Abby, are you OK?"

"Can you finish what you are saying or will we talk tomorrow, it's all kicking off in here tonight.

"See you tomorrow then. Bye" Susan still felt worried as she had not actually had a chance to speak to Abby properly. She should know what's going on, Susan thought. She was on tomorrow and so was Abby. She would try and sort it then. Susan headed off to bed.

She was awoken the next morning by the rain hitting off of her window. She slightly raised her head off of the pillow to look at the alarm clock. It was 6.00. She was on at 8.00. She tried to go back to sleep for a half an hour, but couldn't. She got up and thought, "I don't suppose that it could hurt to be early for once, could it?" She got up and dressed. She stopped and looked out of her bedroom window, what a wet morning, she thought.

She decided to head out early. She grabbed her back and her jacket, and headed for the El. When the El got to the stop next to County, she was 45 minutes earlier than she usually was. Susan got off the El and headed down the stairs, "At least the snow has melted," she thought. She grabbed a coffee from the café opposite the hospital and walked across the Bay towards the ER entrance. When she entered she noticed that the place was quite empty, this was never a good sign in her opinion as it always meant that it would fill up very quickly.

Jerry shouted "Good morning Doctor Lewis" and she replied quite cheerfully. She went and hid in the lounge for 5 minutes. She hung her jacket up in her locker and sat and drank her coffee. The first person she saw whilst she was drinking her coffee was Kerry.   
"Susan," she sounded like she wanted something, "As you're early this morning, could you go through the charts and mail etc. at the desk?"

"OK Kerry." Doctor Weaver looked quite shocked that it didn't take much to persuade Susan to do this.

 Susan went out to the Admit desk and asked where the 'mail etc.' that Kerry was talking about was. He gestured to a giant pile on the shelf under the desk. "What!" Susan said sounding shocked. She started working through the mountain of paper, sorting it out, until it was time for her shift to start. She then shoved it all back under the desk, waiting for the next person who fell foul of Kerry's request. She went back into the Lounge for her Lab. Coat and stethoscope and found Abby in there. She was brushing her hair.   
"What time did you finish this morning?" Susan asked.

"I finished at 5.30, and managed to get two hours sleep in the on-call room." Abby replied

"That's were I hide when I'm avoiding Kerry!" Susan joked, but got no response from Abby. As Abby was going towards the door, Susan shouted on her.

"Abby, look I'm sorry for last night, I was just a bit…"Susan tried to explain.

"It's OK, look I guess I pushed you a bit too far, but I've never seen you snap like that before. A simple 'no, but I don't want to talk about it would have done'. So, what time are you on 'til today?" Abby asked.

"I'm on until 5, then I'm back on 10, I'm doing a double shift." Susan said.

"I'm on tonight as well," said Abby.

"I apologise for what happened, we'll talk tonight, OK?" Susan offered.

Abby nodded and walked out of the door.

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This chapter wasn't fantastic, but it probably will get better from now on.

As I said, please Read and Review.


	4. Chapter 4 Patients and Patience

Sorry – It's been a few days since I updated this.

I found this chapter quite hard to write, because I wasn't sure whether to go straight to the point or write more first. You will see what I decided to do.

Thanks for the reviews, and as I said, I could go in a few directions with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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Chapter 4

The hours that day passed quite quickly, not too busy, but enough to keep both friends occupied. It was still cold outside, but not freezing, and the rain was coming down like a wall of water.

Abby was quite tired, but still worked her shift well. She was getting used to being both a Medical Student and a Nurse. As soon as she finished her shift she got her bag and coat, although with the weather outside, she'd have been better with a rowing boat. She headed home and slept. After waking up, she made a coffee and drank it before heading back to the ER for her night shift. "Great fun," she thought. She also could not help thinking about Susan, about if there really was something wrong and why she could not seem to talk to her.

Susan also worked her shift and headed home before returning quit early. "If I keep this up, I'll be expected to be early all the time," she thought. She too, also thought about Abby and what their forthcoming conversation would produce. She really didn't want to fight with her again; she didn't fell like it at all.

Susan headed into the Lounge, and found it empty. As she was early she made herself a coffee. She drank it and then went and got her Lab. Coat from her locker. It was nice and clean. She went out to the admit. desk and had a look at the charts that were there. She also looked around her, Abby was not in yet.

Susan dealt with her patient; it was a simple one and looked at her watch, 10.30. It seemed pretty quiet. Susan wondered how long that it would stay like that for. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of shouting and screaming. Both she and others looked around. There was a couple fighting in Curtain 3. "Great," thought Susan, "just when I thought that I was in for a quiet night. She managed to subdue the couple and headed back to the desk and sat down. She caught sight of Abby coming out f the Lounge. Abby and Susan walked towards each other.

"Hi," Susan said.

"Hi, what's it been like in here so far?" Abby enquired.

"Not bad, but it seems to be getting a bit busier," Susan replied.

"Let's talk later," Abby said as she saw that there was an Ambulance rolling up into the bay.

It was 11.00. They stepped out into the cool night air and watched the doors bounce open. "Male, 55, chest pains," the paramedic announced. She continues to give out details of his Heart rate and blood pressure on the way to Trauma 2.

The man was checked over by Susan, whilst Abby placed Electrodes on his chest and other nurses took blood and set up an IV drip. Susan thought that he ma be having a heart attack and the monitor and print-out proved her theory to be correct. He was lucky that they had brought him in early and caught it before he became more serious. He was started on drugs and his heart stabilised. "I'll be back in 5 minutes to check on you," Susan said, before heading out of the room towards the desk again. She phoned the ICU and checked that there was a bed for him and also checked the board. "Not bad," she thought, but that could all change quickly. She went back to Trauma 2, as she said that she would and checked him over before sending him up to the ICU. Abby was there. "I must be getting old," Susan said, "I'm tired already and it's only 11.45!" Abby laughed slightly and agreed. "Hey!" Susan said.

"You want to go and get a coffee?" Susan suggested.

"Sure, said Abby.

On their way to the lounge, the were stopped by a nurse who shouted, "Doctor Lewis, there's a double GSW coming in, 10 minutes out."

"Great," Susan and Abby said in chorus.

They changed there course and headed out to the bay instead and started to put on their plastic apron.

 Ten minutes later, two Ambulances arrived. Two people had been shot. One in the chest and leg and abdomen, the other in the arm and leg. Susan took the first man, the more serious and rushed him into Trauma 2. She surveyed his wounds and shouted, "Someone call the OR". His wounds were really bad, he started crashing. "Charge to 200," she shouted, "Clear!" The shocking had no effect. The man's heart still was not beating. She shocked him several times and got a rhythm. She also had to cut open his chest before the surgeons got there. Blood spurted from the incision and went straight on to her shirt, "Great," she thought. It was not long before Doctor Corday arrived.

"Sorry, it took a while," Elizabeth said, "I was in surgery, what have we got here?"

"Gun shot wound to the chest, abdomen and leg, he has crashed, but seems more stable just now," Susan replied.

"I'll take him straight up," Elizabeth said, starting to push the gurney out the door.

Abby looked at Susan as she was pulling off her gloves and apron. She was decidedly blood-splattered all over her nice, clean shirt. She caught Susan's eye and they both smiled at each other. "I'll go get changed, and maybe we could get that coffee," Susan said.

"Yes, please," Abby replied, and they both went towards the Lounge again.

Susan opened her locker and said "Oh no". 

"What's wrong?" Abby asked while making a coffee.

"My spare shirt is in the house; could you please go and get me a scrub top?" She asked.

"Sure," Abby said, "Medium size?" she asked.

"Large," Susan shouted.

Abby went out towards the store room and picked up a large top, which looked rather big. She took it anyway and went back to the Lounge and tossed it towards Susan.

"Thanks, Abby," she said.

"No problem," replied Abby as she placed two mugs of coffee on the table and took a seat, waiting for Susan to finish getting changed.

She finished brushing her hair and closed her locker. She went and sat down beside Abby. She looked at her watch, it was 1.30 already.

"The night's went quick, hasn't it?" asked Abby.

"Yeah," Susan replied.

A long silence then followed. Both felt awkward and it showed. They eventually mustered up the courage to speak, and both spoke at the same time.

"You first," said Susan.

"I didn't know what to say to you, whether to start on something or continue where we finished the other night, and to be honest I don't think that I want to see you blow up like that again," Abby said.

"Me too," said Susan, "I just didn't know what to say."

There was a silence again.

"Well, are you alright?" Susan asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Apart from juggling two roles in this place and working a lot of hours, I'm fine. Are you alright?" Abby enquired.

Susan just looked at her. Abby continued to watch her friend's reaction to this question. Susan shifted a bit in her seat and looked down into her coffee before looking back at Abby.

"I guess that whatever I say here, it won't seem right," said Susan.

Abby just smiled and looked into her eyes.

"Go on, if you want to talk about something, I'm here," Abby told her.

"Thanks," said Susan, "I don't know just quite what to say as we started this the other day and it didn't exactly work, did it?" She asked.

"No, well we could start again, and try not to go at each other this time," Abby suggested.

"Yeah, OK," Susan said.

"so, what was up the other day?" Abby asked her.

"What do you mean?" Susan replied.

"When I came in her after that trauma, you looked as if you had been crying, and then when we went for a break, things weren't exactly great between us," Abby replied.

"I suppose that I have been a bit strange with you recently," Susan said.

"Is there anything that you would like to talk about?" Abby asked her.

Susan seemed to think about this and said:

"Yeah, I guess there is,"

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I know that it seems like a rather strange place to end this chapter at, but I found this one quite hard to write and I need to think about how to write the next one. I may update tomorrow or the day after.

As I said, there are a few directions I go in with this, and if at any part it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

As always, please Read and Review honestly.


	5. Chapter 5 Awake and Asleep

Sorry – I did not update when I said I would.

I am starting to find this really hard to write.

Thanks for the reviews, and as I said, I could go in a few directions with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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Chapter 5

It was late, or early, depending on the way that you look at it. The rain outside had seemed to have finally stopped. It seemed quite still, the ER was not busy at the moment and the bay was empty of any Ambulances or patients.

The two friends could not manage to do anything but think about their conversation. Concentration was not really there, and sleeping, well trying to, seemed impossible.

Usually a spare half an hour on a night shift, or a double shift was spent either eating or sleeping, but more so the latter. Tonight this did not seem possible.

Abby lay flat on her back, in the dark, on the gurney in the on-call room. She lay there, staring at the ceiling listening to the sounds of footsteps and gurneys being wheeled past the room. She was thinking. Thinking about the conversation that her and her close friend had just shared. She was tired, but unable to sleep.

Susan, also lay awake, on the couch in the Lounge. It was not the most comfortable place to sleep, but this was not usually a problem for her. She too, lay there thinking and going over what had happened. She was really tired, as she had already shown, but at this moment sleeping did not seem an option.

Friendship, sharing things with each other, good and bad. If the two could have seen each other at that moment, both awake, unable to sleep and not wanting to disturb the other.

Abby finally gave up a while later and got up. She headed out to the rather quiet admit. desk and began to read over text books and notes. If she could not sleep, she might as well do something useful.

Susan, on the other hand, eventually fell asleep, but before she did she thought about going to get Abby and talking some more.

One thought clouded both their minds, "What next?"

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I know that compared to my other chapters this is really quite short, but I think that it is quite good that way.

I am finding writing this chapter and the next quite difficult, as I am a bit confused about where to take this next. I thought that when I started writing it that I had a good idea of what to do, but now I am not so sure. I do not want my story to end up being the same as another few.

If I do not update quite quickly, please do not loose faith as I have not given up. Although, I don't think that it will be too long before the next chapter is up, because I have and idea for that one.

As I said there are a few different directions that I could go in with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

As always, please Read and Review honestly.


	6. Chapter 6 Awakenings and Emergencies

I thought that there would be more than a couple of days between updates, but because of an error on the site, I did not get Chapter 5 up until a day later than I expected.

I know that the last chapter was really quite short, but as I was having difficulty, I thought that would be the best way to leave it.

Thanks you to everyone for the feedback, I know some of you have an idea where this is going, but I guess that you will just have to wait and see!

As I said there are a few different directions that I could go in with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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Chapter 6

It was morning, it seemed quite pleasant outside. The ER was not very busy, and this was giving everyone a chance to calm down a bit. It was still quite early, and the night shift had another two and a half hours to go.

Abby was still seated at the admit. desk, she had tended to several minor injuries and had resorted to studying her books again. Concentration was not something that she had a lot of at that moment.

The radio in the background was beeping. She swung around on the chair and answered it.

"Hello, County General," she said.

"Hello, we are on our way to you with a women, middle-aged, breathing difficulties, quite serious," he went on to give more details and Abby grabbed a pad and began to write them down.

"How long?" Abby enquired.

"ETA 10 minutes, over" he finished.

"I'd better go and wake Susan up," Abby thought.

She got a nurse and asked her to start getting Trauma 1 ready. The nurse nodded and walked on. Abby got up and headed towards the Lounge. "This should be fun" she thought as she looked through the glass on the door to check that Susan was still there.

Abby opened the door and walked in, quietly closing the door again behind her. The sun was shining through the window in the Lounge. It made a funny pattern all over the room. She stood there for a moment; Susan was still asleep on the couch.

She was lying flat out. Her head on one arm of the couch and her feet were up on the other end. One arm was lying across her chest; the other was thrown over the back of the couch. She looked remarkably comfortable, and so peaceful, Abby thought.

"Susan," Abby said gently, kneeling down beside her.

"Susan," she repeated, slightly louder. Susan stirred and moved her head towards Abby and opened her eyes.

"What is it?" she asked the sleepiness distinct in her voice.

"We have a patient coming in and you are needed," Abby replied softly.

"OK, I'll get up," Susan said. She moved her arms and swung her legs around onto the floor. She rolled her neck and stretched her arms, before rubbing her eyes. She stood up and grabbed her Lab. Coat, which had been discarded over the back of the couch. She also lifter her stethoscope which had also been discarded onto the table and went towards her locker.

"What time is it?" Susan asked Abby, who was walking towards the door.

"Half-past five, two and a half hours left," she replied.

Susan began to brush her hair and told Abby that she would meet her outside. Abby nodded and left the room. Susan did this too, a minute later. She walked through the hall and went out of the doors into the Bay. She joined Abby, who was sitting on the bench.

"You alright?" Abby asked Susan, handing her a pair of gloves.

"Yes, I'm alright," Susan replied. They sat there for a couple of minutes. It was nice. "Abby," Susan started, Abby looked towards Susan, "About last night…" she continues, but their conversation was cut short by the blaring sirens and flashing lights if the Ambulance entering the Bay. "It would have to wait," Susan thought.

They both got up and stood at the back of the Ambulance. The doors swung open and the Paramedic started running off a list of details. Susan listened to these and looked at the woman.

"Hi, I am Doctor Lewis, you are at County General and we are going to try and sort you out and make you feel better. OK?" She finished

The woman nodded weakly as Susan started to listen to her chest. She asked Abby where was open.

"Trauma 1," Abby replied and they all headed in that direction. The woman was immediately hooked up to more monitors. Abby started and IV. Susan examined her. "Pulse Ox, full bloods and 100% Oxygen please," Susan ordered signing the chart. The Oxygen seemed to help stabilise her, but she did not improve greatly.

"Is there anyone that we could call for you?" Abby asked. The woman gave her a number for her son. Abby left to call him. She did this, and when she returned the woman seemed a bit better. Abby moved the stool across the floor and sat down beside her. She started to take the woman's details, as Susan had asked in the hall. She was talking to her, when the monitors and alarms suddenly all went off. Abby looked up. She was crashing.

She went out into the hall and shouted, "Page Lewis, her patient is crashing!" Abby ran back into the room and was followed by many nurses Abby started CPR. This did not have much effect on the woman. "Charge to 200," she said. She shocked the woman twice and gotten a faint rhythm. Abby grabbed her stethoscope and listened to the woman's chest. There was a lack of air on one side. Her lung was collapsed. She looked at the clock and then asked a nurse to "Page Susan again, as her patient is still unstable!" She waited a moment and the woman's vital sights deteriorated. She thought and went ahead. "Chest tube tray," she ordered. A nurse got one and Abby began the procedure. She was a little shaky; this was the first time she had done this without and attending there. It technically was not allowed, but was she supposed let the woman die?

Abby finally got the tube in and the woman's vitals stabilised. Just at that moment, Susan came running into the room shouting, "Did somebody page me? What's going on here? What happened?" Abby turned towards her, pulling her gloves off.

"She crashed, and…" Abby stopped.

"What?" Susan was pressing for details.

"I got a rhythm and found out she had a collapsed lung, I did a thoracotomy." Abby said.

"What!" Susan exclaimed, "that is not supposed to be done without an attending there," she said.

"There was no point in waiting, she was crashing again, she would have died," Abby answered sounding a bit annoyed.

"You were supposed get an attending to witness it, just in case" Susan said.

"I tried, I paged you. Twice." Abby replied. Susan just looked at her.  
"Your patient was crashing, 911 to the ER, where were you?" Abby pressed.

Susan did not answer, she just stood there.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

That is this chapter done for now. As I do the next update, I may add a little on, but if I do, I will mention it at the start of the next chapter.

Thanks for the help Britgirl; I will e-mail you that next chapter. Your advice is helping me a bit.

As I said there are a few different directions that I could go in with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

As always, please Read and Review honestly.


	7. Chapter 7 Arguments and Understandings

Sorry – for the long wait between chapters. I hope that someone is still reading this! I know that it seems to go be going on a bit, and to be honest I did not intend the suspense bit to go on this long, but as you have read I have had problems with what to do. I do not think that it will be too long, before some things become clearer!

Thanks again for the feedback everyone, and to Britgirl for reading and helping with suggestions.

As I said there are a few different directions that I could go in with this, so if it starts to sound wrong, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with the ER.

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It was still quite early morning. Everything still seemed quite pleasant outside, and the ER was still quite calm. It was nearly time for the shift change. One place in the ER where all was not calm was outside Trauma 1.

Abby and Susan were just standing there in silence. Abby was looking increasingly angrier at Susan for a mixture of reasons.

"You really should not have done that without an attending there..." Susan started.

"Don't lecture me Susan," Abby snapped back.

"...there are reasons why these guidelines are in place..." Susan continued seemingly blocking Abby out.

"Yeah, yeah I know the policy," She replied somewhat sarcastically.

"Something could have gone wrong," Susan suggested, trying to sound calm, but failing.

"It didn't," Abby replied, sounding somewhat uninterested.

"I am aware of that fact Abby," said Susan.

"Well then," replied Abby a bit sarcastically again.

"That still does not change the fact that you should not have done it in the first place," Susan said starting to loose it.

"Will you just leave it," Abby said loudly turning away from Susan.

"No, I will not just leave it Abby" Susan shouted after her, both of them unaware that their argument had attracted so many onlookers in the ER.

"You were in the wrong as well," Abby loudly retorted.

"I was on my way, and I know that I should have got their quicker," Susan replied

loudly. Their fight now seemed to be at the focus of the ER.

"Oh, and where were you..." Abby started with a mixture of sarcasm and anger in her voice.

"Abby!" Susan shouted after Abby who had started to walk away.

Next came a silence splitting, glass shattering voice from behind Susan. It was Weaver.

"What is going on here?" Kerry bellowed.

Both Abby and Susan glared at each other.

"Well, what is it?" Kerry pressed.

There was no response. Kerry also seemed to be getting very angry very quickly.

"That's it, Suture Room, two minutes, both of you!" she roared and flew off down the corridor. Abby and Susan went in different directions, Susan to check on the patient that Abby performed the procedure on, and Abby just disappeared in the direction of the Suture Room.

A couple of minutes later, she was joined by Kerry, and then by Susan. Kerry closed the door behind them and shut all the blinds.

"Does one of you want to tell me what that display was all about?" Kerry asked.

Both Abby and Susan started at the same time, but Abby stopped and let Susan speak. "Abby performed an unsupervised thoracotomy," she said. Kerry nodded.

"Abby?" she was obviously requesting Abby input.

"I did it because the patient's vitals were instable and she crashed twice," Abby said.

"You were supposed to get an Attending," Kerry replied.

"I know that, and I tried, and I waited but I felt that there was not enough time," Abby said.

"What do you mean by 'you tried'?" Kerry enquired.

"I paged Doctor Lewis. Twice" Abby replied.

"Did she attend?" Kerry asked.

"Yes, after the second page, and after I had finished the procedure," Abby finished.

"Doctor Lewis, do you have anything to say?" Kerry said sounding interested.

Susan shook her head. Abby and her stood glaring at each other.

"Is there something that I am missing here?" Kerry asked.

Both of them looked at her and said "No," in chorus.

"Do you two have a problem working with each other? You can be reassigned to another Attending if you want Abby," She said.

"No, everything is fine," said Abby flatly.

"Well it sure as heck doesn't seem like it," Kerry snapped, "If you two are having personal problems, leave them at the door, OK?" She finished.

They both nodded and turned to walk out.

"Doctor Lewis," Kerry called

Susan turned and faced Kerry.

"Stay," said Kerry.

Abby closed the door behind her and sunk backwards against the wall next to it. She was angry, angry that nothing else was said, and she really wanted to know what Kerry was saying to Susan. She decided against listening at the door for two reasons. One, that she did not want to annoy Kerry further and two, she could not hear anything properly.

She headed off towards the desk to collect a chart. Several of the nurses were watching her. She just angrily glared at them and continued. It was a simple case.

Things were not so simple in the Suture Room. Kerry had motioned for Susan to sit down on top of the gurney. She did this and Kerry looked at her and spoke.

"What is going on with you and Abby?" she asked.

"Nothing Kerry," Susan replied half heartedly.

"Really, because it does not seem like that," Kerry said, quite softly and friendly.

"OK, I admit that there has been some tension between us, but I suppose that we can work it out," Susan replied.

"Good," said Kerry, "Do that quickly, so that there aren't any more shows for everyone in the corridor, understood?" said Kerry.

"Yeah," said Susan. Kerry's pager sounded.

"Kerry," Susan began as Kerry was walking away.

"Yes," she said and turned around.  
"Nothing, it can wait," Susan said.

Kerry turned and walked out of the room, leaving Susan sitting alone on the gurney. She sunk her head into her hands and started crying. She was unsure whether it was the morning's events, or a culmination of the past week or so.

A few minutes later, she left and went to look for Abby. She found her in the drug lock-up.

"Can we talk?" Susan asked.

"Whatever," Abby said and followed Susan into the empty Exam Room 3. Susan slowly sat down on the gurney and motioned for Abby to sit on the stool in front of her. They looked at each other and smiled a bit.

Abby's eyes were puffy and tired looking and Susan's were red from crying.

"I am sorry about this morning," Susan said.

"Me too," said Abby, "have you been crying again? Kerry wasn't that bad surely?" she joked.

"No, it wasn't Kerry" she replied with a half-hearted laugh.

"Well what's up?" Abby asked concerned.

"It's just a mixture of everything over the last few days," She said beginning to cry again, "I am sorry for the way I have been Abby, I really am" She said breaking down. Abby pulled her into a hug,

"It's OK Susan, I understand," she said.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been Abby, I really am," Susan said again.

"Why won't you be honest with me, tell me what's going on? I thought we were friends?" Abby asked.

"We are!" Susan replied.  
"So talk to me! Look, our shifts should have finished five minutes ago. Let's grab our stuff and go for a walk," Abby

They both got up headed to the Lounge, got their stuff and walked out of the hospital. They were going for a walk. They were also back on night shift again that night.


End file.
